“Why not give yourself a break from the unending cavalcade of modern high-speed insanity, and rest up with this album of deep soul from Southern Albania.”
– Ry Cooder

Brazilian Samba, Bosnian Sevdah, New Orleans Jazz, Cuban son – and Albanian Saze! The turn of the last century saw mass migrations to the world’s cities with rural people bringing their music with them, adapting their traditions to new circumstances and modern instruments. Of all these great musical forms, the mesmerizing arabesques, joyful dances and heart-breaking laments of Saze are among the least recorded, and they remain largely unknown outside Albania.

Glitterbeat is proud to announce the release of “At Least Wave Your Handkerchief At Me: The Joys and Sorrows of Southern Albanian Song” by Saz’iso, a group of virtuoso musicians and legendary singers assembled by veteran producer Joe Boyd (Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, Cubanismo, Songhai) and his co-producers, Edit Pula and Andrea Goertler, and recorded by Grammy-winning engineer Jerry Boys (Buena Vista Social Club, Ali Farka Touré, Orchestra Baobab).

“I had long been intrigued by Albanian music. In 1988, I saw a smuggled video of that year’s Gjirokastër Folklore Festival, but good recordings were hard to find. When I finally went in 2014, I was captivated by the country and its mesmerizing music; the germ of a plan to make a record took hold.”
– Joe Boyd

The key that opened the Albanian door for Joe Boyd was a collaboration between ethnomusicologist/music producer Lucy Durán and Albanian artist Edit Pula in 2011 for a three-part series of broadcasts on Albanian music for BBC Radio 3’s “World Routes” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016kdcj). In 2014, Joe joined Lucy, his old friend and collaborator, for a celebration in Albania. There he met Edit Pula and her friend Andrea Goertler, both passionate advocates of traditional music, and the idea for a recording project was born. Dream was transformed into reality by a Kickstarter campaign supported by friends and strangers, musicians and fans from around the world. The producers then assembled a group of star musicians, many of whom had been part of the World Routes recording.

“The best moment in my remarkable musical journey to Albania in 2011 for the BBC was my encounter with Saze. The gorgeous voice of Donika, so expressive, full of pathos and joy, moved me to tears instantly. Listening to this album takes me right back to the beautiful wild landscape of southern Albania and evokes its turbulent history.”
– Lucy Durán